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Robert louis stevenson strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde

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Robert Louis Stevensons supernatural story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(most commonly known by the shortened title Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) became animmediate best-seller in Great Britain and America when it was published in 1886. Thenovel has also earned accolades from the academic community for its artistic style andpenetrating psychological themes. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based onthe story of Edinburghs infamous Deacon Brodie, who was discovered to have been livinga double life, coupled with a dream Stevenson had one night, what he called "a fine bogeytale," about a man who drinks a potion made from a white powder and subsequentlytransforms into a devilish creature. The next morning, Stevenson started to write adetective/horror story in the style of those written by Edgar Allan Poe, and three days laterhis draft was complete. After a critical response from his wife, Stevenson threw the draft inthe fire and started a new one that he completed in another three days and revised duringthe next six weeks. This version became, with minor alterations, the published version ofthe text, with its compelling illustration of one mans futile attempts to weed out the evilinclinations of his soul. Most of Stevensons readers would agree with Stewart F.Sandersons judgment that the complex characterization of the tortured Dr. Henry Jekyllcreates "a work of extraordinary psychological depth and powerful impact."The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeSummaryThe story opens with Dr. Jekylls friend and solicitor, Gabriel John Utterson, and Uttersons distant kinsman, Mr. Enfield, taking a walk one Sunday. They find themselves passing a"certain sinister block of building" in the London district of Soho that "bore in everyfeature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence." After stopping in front of a"blistered and distained" door on this block, Mr. Enfield recalls that one evening at three hewas returning home through that section of the city when he saw a man run into a little girl.He notes that "the man trampled calmly over the childs body and left her screaming on theground." Immediately, Enfield apprehended the man and brought him back to the child andto the group that was gathering around her. Enfield admits that the suspect "was perfectlycool and made no resistance, but gave me one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat onme." The rest of the crowd responded similarly. After ascertaining that the child was notseverely harmed, Enfield directed the man to pay the family compensatory damages. Theman then withdrew behind the same door at whichThe story opens with Dr. Jekylls friend and solicitor, Gabriel John Utterson, and Uttersons distant kinsman, Mr. Enfield, taking a walk one Sunday. They find themselves passing a"certain sinister block of building" in the London district of Soho that "bore in everyfeature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence." After stopping in front of a"blistered and distained" door on this block, Mr. Enfield recalls that one evening at three hewas returning home through that section of the city when he saw a man run into a little girl.He notes that "the man trampled calmly over the...

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A year later, a maid sees from her window Mr. Hyde club an older man to death. After thepolice find a sealed envelope at the scene addressed to Utterson, they bring it to him thenext morning. Later, Utterson identifies the body as Sir Danvers Carew. Utterson alsorecognizes the stick the murderer used as belonging to Jekyll. When Utterson and the policego to Hydes residence, they discover the other half of the broken stick in his ransackedrooms. The next afternoon, Utterson finds Jekyll "looking deathly sick," and with a"feverish manner." Jekyll insists he is done with Hyde, who...One evening Poole arrives at Uttersons home and tells the lawyer that Jekyll has been shutup in his room all week. Poole is certain that there has been "foul play." When the tworeturn to Jekylls home and try to get him to come out of his room, Jekyll, in a changedvoice, refuses. Poole tells Utterson that all week the person in the room has been beggingfor "some sort of medicine." Utterson breaks down the door and finds the dying Hyde"sorely contorted and still twitching." Jekyll is nowhere to be found. Utterson finds a notefrom Jekyll asking him to read Lanyons letter as well as...(The entire page is 455Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde SummaryHow It All Goes DownThe novel begins with "Mr. Utterson the lawyer" going for a walk with his friend and relative Mr.Enfield. They walk past a door, which somehow prompts Mr. Enfield to tell a sad story: a bruteof a man knocked down a little girl, everyone yelled at the rude man, the man offered to pay alot of money and disappeared through the door only to return with a large check drawn from Dr.Jekyll’s bank account. The nasty man? None other than Mr. Hyde.Mr. Utterson, it turns out, is Dr. Jekyll’s lawyer, and we find out that in the event of Dr. Jekyll’sdeath or disappearance, his entire estate is to be turned over to Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson, whothinks highly of Dr. Jekyll, is extremely suspicious of this whole arrangement. He resolves toget to the bottom of this mystery. He hunts down Mr. Hyde and is suitably impressed with theevil just oozing out of Hyde’s pores. He then asks Dr. Jekyll about these odd arrangements. Dr.Jekyll refuses to comment, and there the matter rests until "nearly a year later."

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Cut to "nearly a year later." A prominent politician is brutally beaten to death. The murder isconveniently witnessed by a maid, who points to evil-oozing Mr. Hyde as the culprit. Everyonetries to hunt down this evil man, but with no success. Meanwhile, Dr. Jekyll is in great healthand spirits; he entertains his friends (among them one Dr. Lanyon), gives dinner parties, andattends to his religious duties. Two months later, both Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll fall terribly ill,and claim to have irrevocably quarreled with each other. Dr. Lanyon dies, leaving mysteriousdocuments in Mr. Utterson’s possession, to be opened only if Dr. Jekyll dies or disappears. Dr.Jekyll remains in seclusion, despite frequent visits from Mr. Utterson.Finally, one evening, Dr. Jekyll’s butler visits Mr. Utterson at home. He’s worried about hismaster and is convinced of foul play. The butler persuades Mr. Utterson to return to Dr. Jekyll’shouse, where they break into Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory. They find Mr. Hyde dead on the floor, withDr. Jekyll nowhere to be found.Mr. Utterson finds several documents left to him, and goes back home to read both Mr.Lanyon’s narrative and Dr. Jekyll’s narrative, which, it turns out, are two parts of the samestory. Since we’re at the end of the story, author Robert Louis Stevenson figured it was abouttime to tell us what happened at the beginning. So we discover (through the documents left bythe dead men) the following: by means of a potion, Dr. Jekyll was able to transform into Mr.Hyde and give in to a world of pleasure and self-serving crime. In his narrative, Dr. Jekyll writesthat Mr. Hyde became ever more powerful and ever harder to control – in essence, thedominant personality.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapter 1 Summary We’re introduced to Mr. Utterson who, despite being rather dry and boring, is a good friend and good-natured man. We’re introduced to his friend and relative Mr. Enfield. The two of them take long walks every Sunday that are slightly mysterious. One Sunday they walk past a door, which prompts Mr. Enfield to tell a story. Naturally. Mr. Enfield’s story goes like this: Early in the morning, he sees a man trample over a little girl. Mr. Enfield corners the man. The man is evil-looking and deformed. The entire crowd wants to kill the man, who responds with something along the lines of "I’ll give you lots of money if you don’t kill me." He disappears inside and emerges with a "cheque" for almost 100 pounds, drawn from the bank account of a well-respected man. The check is genuine. Mr. Enfield speculates that the evil man is blackmailing the well-respected man. Mr. Enfield says that he calls the place with the door "Black Mail House." The two men then speculate about the door, and Mr. Enfield finally says that his policy on odd events is not to ask any questions of any kind. Mr. Utterson has no such policy; he asks Mr. Enfield for the name of the man who trampled the child. It is Mr. Hyde.

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Mr. Utterson then declares that he knows the name of the well-respected man. This whole story hits home for him.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapter 2 Summary Mr. Utterson goes home, and instead of his usual evening routine, he goes to a safe and takes out a set of documents. The documents decree that if Dr. Jekyll is to die or disappear in any way, his entire estate is to be passed over to Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson seems to think that something is rotten in the estate of Dr. Jekyll. In lieu of further solitary pondering, he decides to go hang out with his good friend Dr. Lanyon. Turns out Dr. Jekyll, Dr. Lanyon, and Mr. Utterson were once good friends. It also turns out that Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll have had a huge argument about science. Mr. Utterson asks if Dr. Lanyon has heard of Mr. Hyde. Answer is no. That night, Mr. Utterson can’t sleep. He dreams crazy dreams about Mr. Hyde and speculates about the evil man’s hold over Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson basically starts stalking the door to Black Mail House, in an effort to catch Mr. Hyde. The two finally meet, and Mr. Utterson is totally repulsed by Mr. Hyde’s terrible manners and appearance. Mr. Utterson goes directly to Dr. Jekyll’s house and asks to see his friend. Dr. Jekyll is not home. Mr. Utterson gossips with the butler about Mr. Hyde, and discovers that all the servants have orders to obey this mysterious, evil man. Mr. Utterson goes home pretty sad and distraught and afraid for his friend, because nothing is worse than being potentially blackmailed by a horrible man who oozes evil out of his pores.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapter 3 Summary Two weeks later, Dr. Jekyll gives a dinner party for five or six old men. Mr. Utterson is the guest who deliberately stays later than everyone else. He asks about Mr. Hyde and the strange will. Dr. Jekyll begs Mr. Utterson to let the issue drop, saying that he’s taken an interest in Mr. Hyde. And that’s that. It’s all very mysterious.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapter 4 Summary Almost a year later, everyone in London is shocked by a terrible crime. A maid saw everything. Her testimony ran as follows: She was sitting in her window and saw a sweet and gentle and kind old gentleman asking a young man for directions. She recognizes the young man as Mr. Hyde. Suddenly, Mr. Hyde beats the old gentleman to death. The maid faints.

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Hours later, she finally calls the police. The old man has a letter on him addressed to Mr. Utterson. Mr. Utterson (who seems to be everybody’s lawyer) accompanies a police officer to the crime scene. He recognizes the body as Sir Danvers Carew, and the broken walking stick (read: murder weapon) as one that he had given to Dr. Jekyll some years before. Mr. Utterson offers to take the police officers to Dr. Jekyll’s house, where they poke through everything but are unable to find Mr. Hyde.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapter 5 Summary Mr. Utterson goes to visit Dr. Jekyll, who looks extremely sick. Mr. Utterson asks if Dr. Jekyll is harboring Mr. Hyde, and Dr. Jekyll swears that he will never see or contact Mr. Hyde again. Dr. Jekyll gives Mr. Utterson a letter written by Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson shares it with his head clerk, Mr. Guest, who just happens to be a handwriting expert. A messenger happens to deliver an invitation written by Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Guest declares that the two pieces of writing were written by the same hand. Mr. Utterson goes to bed very disturbed, convinced that Dr. Jekyll forged the letter from Mr. Hyde.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapter 6 Summary Despite a massive manhunt, Mr. Hyde is nowhere to be found. Dr. Jekyll becomes well and happy, throwing dinner parties and engaging in charitable works. Mr. Utterson dines with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Lanyon on the eighth of the month, and all is well, but on the 12th, 14th, and 15th, he is denied admittance to the doctor’s house, on the grounds that Dr. Jekyll is ill. Mr. Utterson calls on Mr. Lanyon, who looks near death. So both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Lanyon are ill. Mr. Lanyon claims that his friendship with Dr. Jekyll is over. Mr. Utterson writes to Dr. Jekyll, who replies with a similar message. A week later, Mr. Lanyon, confined to his bed, dies. In the spirit of the novel and its mysterious documents, Mr. Lanyon left Mr. Utterson with an envelope before he died. Upon opening it, Mr. Utterson finds…yet another envelope. This one is not to be opened until the death or disappearance of Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson is totally tempted to open up this mysterious envelope, but he resists. Mr. Utterson longs for the company of his old friend, Dr. Jekyll, but on every visit the servants say that Dr. Jekyll has shut himself up in his laboratory. Mr. Utterson finally begins to suspect that Dr. Jekyll himself has engaged in some evil doings.

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They arrive at the house, where all the servants are collectively freaking out. Poole announces Mr. Utterson’s presence. Dr. Jekyll refuses to see his old friend. Same old song and dance. Based on the voice coming from behind the door, Poole is convinced that the man in the room is not Dr. Jekyll. Poole and Mr. Utterson chat about the events of the past week. Dr. Jekyll, or whoever is inhabiting the room in the laboratory, has been issuing chemical orders via slips of paper. He hasn’t been able to obtain whatever it is that he’s looking for. Poole is convinced that the man inside the room is really Mr. Hyde. Using an axe and a kitchen poker, Poole and Mr. Utterson break into the room. Inside the room, everything is very neat and clean and in perfect order. Except for the body of a man lying on the floor and "twitching." It’s Mr. Hyde. He has committed suicide. The two men search the area, looking for Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson finds a will naming him as the heir to Dr. Jekyll’s estate. Mr. Utterson, in a seemingly endless tirade of paper discovery, finds yet two more documents. The first instructs him to read Dr. Lanyon’s narrative, and the second is a narrative written by Dr. Jekyll.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapter 9 Summary Dr. Lanyon receives a letter from Dr. Jekyll, asking him, in the name of their long and esteemed friendship, to perform a complicated favor. The favor involves breaking and entering into Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory and giving some potions to a messenger that will arrive at Dr. Lanyon’s house at midnight. Dr. Lanyon does as the letter requests. Mr. Hyde shows up eager to take the chemicals. He’s wearing clothes that are much too big for him. He takes the chemicals and transforms into Dr. Henry Jekyll. This is quite a disturbing sight, especially for a man of science such as Dr. Lanyon.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapter 10 Summary Dr. Jekyll starts his letter by explaining the two sides of his character: on the one hand, he loves being sober, dignified, and respectable, yet on the other hand he craves pleasure and debauchery. In his research, he discovers how to split these two natures into two men. He takes a potion, and immediately feels both extreme pleasure and extreme wickedness. This heathen-ness is accompanied by a transformation into Mr. Edward Hyde. He takes the potion and transforms back into Dr. Jekyll. He therefore does not succeed in creating someone wholly good and someone wholly evil, but rather himself and a wholly evil version of himself. He makes various arrangements for his new self: a house, a housekeeper, a new will, etc. You need stomping grounds for the evil version of yourself. Then he goes nuts as Edward Hyde – unfortunately, he gives us no descriptions beyond "wickedness." His conscience does not trouble him, because as Dr. Jekyll, he continues being respectable.

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When he knocks over the child as Mr. Hyde, he has to use Dr. Jekyll’s bank account to not get killed by the angry mob. Soon after, he opens a bank account in Mr. Hyde’s name. Two months before the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, Dr. Jekyll wakes up one morning as Mr. Hyde. This is disconcerting, to say the least, and Dr. Jekyll begins to feel that he has to make a choice between his two personas. For the next two months, he lives a respectable life as Dr. Jekyll. But he longs to become Mr. Hyde again. So one evening, he takes the transformative potion. Then he beats Sir Danvers Carew to death. Horrified, he breaks the key to his laboratory and potions, and resumes a sober life as Dr. Jekyll. But the secret urges remain, and one day, sitting in the park, his thoughts grow evil and he transforms into Mr. Hyde. Away from his potions, and wearing the face of a wanted murderer, Dr. Jekyll sends a note to Dr. Lanyon with specific instructions. It works: Mr. Hyde transforms back into Dr. Jekyll, but Dr. Lanyon’s friendship is lost forever. But all is not solved. One day thereafter, Dr. Jekyll is walking in his courtyard and transforms AGAIN into Mr. Hyde. He runs into his laboratory, but it takes a double dose to restore himself to the appearance and personality of Dr. Jekyll. Six hours later, he again transforms. Dr. Jekyll rapidly gets sicker and sicker, and Mr. Hyde grows more powerful and more insistent. Then he runs out of potions. Panicking, he sends his servants all around London looking for a specific kind of salt. None of them works, convincing Dr. Jekyll that there must have been some unknown impurity in the first sample that lent the potions its efficacy. He ends his letter by saying Dr. Jekyll has most certainly died, and he can only speculate on what will happen to Mr. Hyde. He says he is bringing "the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end," but we never really know if Jekyll killed himself (and Hyde) before Hyde took over, or whether Hyde, for some unknown reason, killed himself.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde SummaryHow It All Goes DownThe novel begins with "Mr. Utterson the lawyer" going for a walk with his friend and relative Mr.Enfield. They walk past a door, which somehow prompts Mr. Enfield to tell a sad story: a bruteof a man knocked down a little girl, everyone yelled at the rude man, the man offered to pay alot of money and disappeared through the door only to return with a large check drawn from Dr.Jekyll’s bank account. The nasty man? None other than Mr. Hyde.Mr. Utterson, it turns out, is Dr. Jekyll’s lawyer, and we find out that in the event of Dr. Jekyll’sdeath or disappearance, his entire estate is to be turned over to Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson, whothinks highly of Dr. Jekyll, is extremely suspicious of this whole arrangement. He resolves toget to the bottom of this mystery. He hunts down Mr. Hyde and is suitably impressed with theevil just oozing out of Hyde’s pores. He then asks Dr. Jekyll about these odd arrangements. Dr.

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Jekyll refuses to comment, and there the matter rests until "nearly a year later."Cut to "nearly a year later." A prominent politician is brutally beaten to death. The murder isconveniently witnessed by a maid, who points to evil-oozing Mr. Hyde as the culprit. Everyonetries to hunt down this evil man, but with no success. Meanwhile, Dr. Jekyll is in great healthand spirits; he entertains his friends (among them one Dr. Lanyon), gives dinner parties, andattends to his religious duties. Two months later, both Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll fall terribly ill,and claim to have irrevocably quarreled with each other. Dr. Lanyon dies, leaving mysteriousdocuments in Mr. Utterson’s possession, to be opened only if Dr. Jekyll dies or disappears. Dr.Jekyll remains in seclusion, despite frequent visits from Mr. Utterson.Finally, one evening, Dr. Jekyll’s butler visits Mr. Utterson at home. He’s worried about hismaster and is convinced of foul play. The butler persuades Mr. Utterson to return to Dr. Jekyll’shouse, where they break into Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory. They find Mr. Hyde dead on the floor, withDr. Jekyll nowhere to be found.Mr. Utterson finds several documents left to him, and goes back home to read both Mr.Lanyon’s narrative and Dr. Jekyll’s narrative, which, it turns out, are two parts of the samestory. Since we’re at the end of the story, author Robert Louis Stevenson figured it was abouttime to tell us what happened at the beginning. So we discover (through the documents left bythe dead men) the following: by means of a potion, Dr. Jekyll was able to transform into Mr.Hyde and give in to a world of pleasure and self-serving crime. In his narrative, Dr. Jekyll writesthat Mr. Hyde became ever more powerful and ever harder to control – in essence, thedominant personality.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapter 1 Summary We’re introduced to Mr. Utterson who, despite being rather dry and boring, is a good friend and good-natured man. We’re introduced to his friend and relative Mr. Enfield. The two of them take long walks every Sunday that are slightly mysterious. One Sunday they walk past a door, which prompts Mr. Enfield to tell a story. Naturally. Mr. Enfield’s story goes like this: Early in the morning, he sees a man trample over a little girl. Mr. Enfield corners the man. The man is evil-looking and deformed. The entire crowd wants to kill the man, who responds with something along the lines of "I’ll give you lots of money if you don’t kill me." He disappears inside and emerges with a "cheque" for almost 100 pounds, drawn from the bank account of a well-respected man. The check is genuine. Mr. Enfield speculates that the evil man is blackmailing the well-respected man. Mr. Enfield says that he calls the place with the door "Black Mail House."

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The two men then speculate about the door, and Mr. Enfield finally says that his policy on odd events is not to ask any questions of any kind. Mr. Utterson has no such policy; he asks Mr. Enfield for the name of the man who trampled the child. It is Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson then declares that he knows the name of the well-respected man. This whole story hits home for him.Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ThemesLittle Words, Big IdeasGood vs. EvilGood vs. evil is basically the novel’s biggest theme. More specifically, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydeis easily viewed as an allegory about the good and evil that exist in all men, and about our s...RepressionRepression is indisputably a cause of troubles in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The repression hereis that of Victorian England: no sexual appetites, no violence, and no great expressions ofemotion, a...FriendshipFriendship in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde serves to drive the plot forward. Aside from humancuriosity, Mr. Utterson is compelled to uncover the mystery of the evil man because of hisfriendship with D...AppearancesAppearances figure in the novel both figuratively and literally. Dr. Jekyll definitely wants to keepup a well-respected façade, even though he has a lot of unsavory tendencies. In a literal s...ScienceIn Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, science becomes a cover and justification for supernaturalactivities. Dr. Jekyll ostensibly derives his potion in some sort of scientific manner as opposedto finding a...

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CuriosityIn Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, curiosity drives the characters to seek knowledge. This curiosity iseither suppressed or fulfilled in each character. Curiosity lacks any negative connotation;instead,...Lies and DeceitIn Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the plot is frequently driven forward by secrecy and deception; Mr.Utterson doesn’t know the relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and he wants to findou...ViolenceThis novel details two crimes of violence against innocent and helpless citizens: first, a littlegirl, and second, an elderly man. The violence in the novel centers on Mr. Hyde, and raises theque...ReligionGod and Satan figure prominently in this text, as well as many general references to religionand works of charity. As part of their intellectual lives, the men in the novel discuss variousreligio...Women and FemininityMost female characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are passive and weak. The first female wesee is a young girl mowed over by Mr. Hyde. Although she is "not much the worse, morefrightened," she st...http://www.shmoop.com/jekyll-and-hyde/themes.htmlStrange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeIn A NutshellThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published in 1886 and was instrumental inlaunching the author, Robert Louis Stevenson, to literary fame. The novel, a mystery thriller abouta respectable man who takes a potion to occasionally become a dark and evil character, waswritten as a "shilling shocker." Popular during the Victorian era (the mid-1800s to about 1900),shilling shockers were short, graphic, and inexpensive books eagerly consumed by the masses–like those cheap romance novels you find in the supermarket. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde hasbeen in continual publication for over 120 years.

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Why Should I Care?We know, you’re not going to be taking some weird potions and unleashing your inner Mr.Hyde anytime soon. But seriously – have you ever tried to be good all the time? Flat-out"pleases" and "thank yous" and keeping your room clean and doing charity work and beingrespectful and eating your brussels sprouts and minding your parents and your manners?Many people would go crazy being "good" all the time.Dr. Jekyll admits that one of his "flaws" is a tendency towards, as best we could figure out,happiness. Dr. Jekyll opted to be a grave, somber man, and before he knew it, his inner WildChild was begging to be unleashed. So he came up with a perfect little solution: he created analter ego. Except, instead of a Peter Parker/Spiderman deal, Dr. Jekyll went in the oppositedirection and created an evil alter ego via some mysterious potion. His alter ego, Edward Hyde,who has a completely different appearance and personality, gets to do all the fun and illegalthings that Jekyll, or any normal person, can’t. Although we don’t get the juicy details, it’s prettyclear that Mr. Hyde is a pretty perverse, wicked, sinful, foul guy – all around NOT the kind ofperson you want to meet in a dark alley.Apparently there’s some sort of consequence to all this evil-doing, what with Hyde taking overand everyone dying. So it’s best not to try Dr. Jekyll’s experiment at home. Read the textinstead, because if you haven’t figured it out already, the point of this book is so sharp wecould spear fish with it. What with being a "shilling shocker" and all (tabloid stories not unliketrashy romance novels), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is written in a clear-cut (if still Victorian )manner and clocks in at fewer than 150 pages. So in a shameless rip-off of Nike: Just read it. Character Roles (Protagonist, Antagonist...) Tools of Characterization Characters Dr. Henry Jekyll Mr. Edward Hyde Mr. Gabriel Utterson Dr. Hastie Lanyon Mr. Enfield Poole ADVERTISEMENT Table of Contents

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AP English Language AP English Literature SAT Test Prep ACT Exam Prep ADVERTISEMENTCharacter Roles (Protagonist, Antagonist...)Character AnalysisProtagonistDr. JekyllWho gets top billing in the title of the book? That’s right, Dr. Jekyll. We don’t even "physically"meet him until the third chapter, but this is a book about Dr. Jekyll and his very human fallibility.He’s the guy that makes stuff happen, and he’s the only guy that can shine a light onto thisdark mystery. That’s why we’re prepared to argue that he’s the protagonist.AntagonistMr. HydeObviously. Antagonist means "bad guy." Also, "guy who opposes the good guy." Good guy inthis book? Dr. Jekyll. There you have it. Besides, there’s that whole "juggernaut embodiment ofall that is evil" thing.FoilMr. Enfield and Dr. LanyonThese guys are the salt and pepper to Jekyll and Utterson’s meat and potato. They providevariety and color to the cast of characters, as well as alternative points of view. Dr. Lanyonshows us that Dr. Jekyll’s scientific practices are not necessarily widely shared or respected,and Mr. Enfield shows that some people are passive, inactive, and not likely to beoverwhelmed by curiosity any time soon.Dr. Henry JekyllCharacter Analysis

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Dr. Jekyll is a good guy who plays by the rules. He reads books about religion, he does charitywork, and although he throws dinner parties for his bachelor friends. The focus of Dr. Jekyll’sbachelor parties is science, religion, and literature. But Dr. Jekyll does have one nasty littlesecret: he longs to be evil and give way to many unspecified "appetites." His name perhapsprovides a clue: "Je" in French means "I," while "kyll" = kill. The question is, what or whomdoes he kill? Himself? His appetites? His good side? His evil side?After contemplating and analyzing these appetites of his, Dr. Jekyll decides that all men areboth good and evil, and the clear thing to do is to try separating these two opposing facets. Dr.Jekyll – who is apparently a scientist as well as a doctor – experiments with a variety of potionswith this goal in mind. He eventually mixes a potion that, when consumed, turns him into Mr.Hyde. Instead of a "large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty […] with every mark of capacityand kindness," he morphs into another person entirely – an evil person.It’s important to note that Dr. Jekyll has a conscience. He knows what he’s doing is bad. Heeven admits that as Dr. Jekyll, he sometimes works to fix the harm that he caused as Mr.Hyde. But eventually, he just can’t help himself. He has to participate in a world of pleasure nomatter what it costs him.Dr. Henry Jekyll Timeline and Summary *This timeline is based on Dr. Jekyll’s final account. Dr. Jekyll lives a comfortably well-off, respectable life, but he has hidden desires for pleasure and sin. He becomes convinced that man has a dual nature, best described as good and evil. In his laboratory, he experiments with a number of potions designed to separate these two natures. He succeeds in creating a potion that transforms him into evil Mr. Hyde, and vice versa. For a while, he maintains a respectable existence as Dr. Jekyll and a disreputable existence as Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde commits several violent crimes, leading to Dr. Jekyll renouncing the life of Mr. Hyde. But Dr. Jekyll can’t help himself. In his own persona, he commits some sin that "destroys the balance of his soul." Dr. Jekyll grows weaker; Mr. Hyde grows stronger. Finally the transformations begin occurring without the potions, whenever Dr. Jekyll’s mind turns to evil thoughts. In despair, Dr. Jekyll locks himself in his laboratory and keeps trying to transform his body back. He runs out of potion, and sends his servants around town for more supplies, but he can’t seem to duplicate his original potion. Dr. Jekyll pens his confession right before (presumably) Mr. Hyde takes full control of his body. Or possibly right before he kills himself and Hyde.http://www.shmoop.com/jekyll-and-hyde/mr-edward-hyde.html

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Mr. Edward HydeCharacter AnalysisMr. Hyde is Dr. Jekyll’s evil alter ego who indulges in various undisclosed vices. He’s smaller,younger, more energetic, and just basically a malevolent, villainous guy. He’s frequentlycompared to a monkey or an ape, suggesting a certain inhumanity or bestiality. Although noone can really pinpoint a particular deformity, they all agree that he has one – one that makeshim a twisted, dark man who manages to inspire fear, disgust, and loathing even from afar. Heis also described repeatedly as "timid yet bold."He indulges in many undisclosed pleasures, but the main characteristic we see is that ofviolence. Mr. Hyde, to put it mildly, likes to beat people up. Based on the crimes we see, hispredilection for violence isn’t like a gang member’s, because he doesn’t hold any affiliations orhave any conception of honor and respect. Nor is he really like a schoolyard bully, becausehe’s not particularly bigger or stronger than the people he beats up – not to mention that hedoesn’t do it in front of crowds or to make himself look good. No, he simply likes beating peopleup. He feels pleasure when he engages in violence.Mr. Hyde’s name is also significant, as he is both a hidden man and a persona that Dr. Jekyllhides behind. Mr. Utterson notes the significance of the name in Chapter Two: "‘If he be Mr.Hyde,’ he had thought, ‘I shall be Mr. Seek.’"Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Mr. Hyde to discuss is his death. We aren’t really sureat the end how Mr. Hyde died. Well, suicide, you say, but who committed the suicide? Weknow that Hyde is afraid of death (and probably the Hell which, according to Victorian England,awaits him), and that the threat of suicide is Jekyll’s one weapon against him. So one wouldthink Jekyll somehow killed himself and Hyde right after writing out his tale. That’s the easyexplanation.Jekyll did say that Hyde was taking over, growing stronger and whatnot. If the last thing Jekyllwas able to pull off was writing his last "document," then it sounds like Hyde took over beforethe death occurred. So did Hyde kill himself? And does that mean he killed Jekyll? You couldsay that Jekyll was already dead by that time, that Hyde had taken over completely. After all, itis Hyde’s dead body that we see, not Jekyll’s.Lastly, you could say that it’s irrelevant to ask who killed himself, or who killed whom, becauseat the end of the day, Hyde and Jekyll aren’t separate entities. They share the same body, andthe same memory. You could even go so far as to say that Jekyll’s attempted division failed;man can’t be separated simply into two halves.Mr. Edward Hyde Timeline and Summary *This is based on Dr. Jekyll’s final account.

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At some unknown point in time, Mr. Hyde comes to life when Dr. Jekyll drinks a special potion. For a time, Mr. Hyde comes to life whenever Dr. Jekyll doesn’t feel like being respectable. Mr. Hyde participates in "undignified" pleasures that soon turned to the "monstrous." Then he tramples the child, witnessed by Mr. Enfield. He writes a check in Dr. Jekyll’s name, then opens a bank account for himself – the signature is merely Dr. Jekyll’s handwriting, sloped backwards. Two months before the murder of Sir Danvers, Dr. Jekyll goes to bed and then awakes as Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll notes that Mr. Hyde’s body has been growing larger, as if from "a more generous tide of blood." He is also stronger-willed. For two months, Dr. Jekyll refrains from drinking the potion, and Mr. Hyde remains hidden. In a moment of "moral weakness," Dr. Jekyll drinks the potion and Mr. Hyde emerges stronger than ever. The beast is out of the cage. When a passerby stops him, Mr. Hyde beats the man to death. Dr. Jekyll resolves to lay Mr. Hyde to rest forever, but commits some sin that "tips the balance of his soul" towards evil. Mr. Hyde takes control of Dr. Jekyll’s body one day at Regent’s Park. Away from his potions and a wanted man for murder, Mr. Hyde runs into a hotel and stays there after penning messages to Dr. Jekyll’s friend (Dr. Lanyon) and Dr. Jekyll’s butler, delivering a complex series of instructions. Mr. Hyde goes to Dr. Lanyon’s house to get the potion. Warning Dr. Lanyon that he is about to see something extraordinary, Mr. Hyde drinks the potion and transforms into Dr. Jekyll. The next morning, Dr. Jekyll is relieved and walking in his courtyard, on his way to the laboratory, when he again transforms into Mr. Hyde. It takes a double dose to recall Dr. Jekyll. Six hours later, Mr. Hyde again takes over. From that point on, Mr. Hyde is the dominant personality, and Dr. Jekyll struggles helplessly to assert himself. At this point Dr. Jekyll realizes that Mr. Hyde is afraid of death, and that only fear of the gallows allows Dr. Jekyll to resume his identity. However, because Dr. Jekyll really dislikes Mr. Hyde at this point, Mr. Hyde begins to really hate Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Hyde plays lots of tricks on Dr. Jekyll, like defacing his favorite books and burning his letters. But since Mr. Hyde is afraid to die, he fears that Dr. Jekyll will simply commit suicide. Because of this, Dr. Jekyll pities Mr. Hyde. Because Dr. Jekyll runs out of potion, Mr. Hyde is given full rein. Mr. Hyde eventually kills himself, and is found (dead) by Mr. Utterson and Poole. Character Roles (Protagonist, Antagonist...) Tools of CharacterizationCharacters Dr. Henry Jekyll Mr. Edward Hyde Mr. Gabriel Utterson Dr. Hastie Lanyon Mr. Enfield

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Poole ADVERTISEMENT Table of Contents AP English Language AP English Literature SAT Test Prep ACT Exam Prep ADVERTISEMENTTools of CharacterizationCharacter AnalysisPhysical AppearancesDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde look differently, so they must be different people. More specifically, Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have markedly different physical characteristics. Dr. Jekyll is described asmiddle-aged, distinguished-looking, and a large man. Mr. Hyde is younger, more energetic,and described by just about everyone as seeming to have a deformity. No one can pinpointexactly what this deformity is, but they unanimously agree that it’s there, and that it’s definitelyevil.Thoughts and Opinions: Approaches to MysteryMr. Enfield remarks that "the more it looks like Queer Street, the less I ask." He’s talking aboutodd phenomena. While Mr. Enfield looks at a mystery and says, "oh, that’s strange," his friendMr. Utterson looks at a mystery, says, "oh, that’s strange – I wonder what’s going on." Indeed,this is their main point of differentiation.Thoughts and Opinions: Approaches to ScienceDr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll have different approaches to science – therefore, they’re differentmen. Lanyon says something like "I believe in logic and science and rules" and Jekyll replies"I’m going to mess with science until it approaches a weird and supernatural form of abuse."Direct Characterization

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Stevenson isn’t one for subtlety. He gives us details on the characters without romance orinnuendo. For example, his very first paragraph is an extremely lengthy description of Mr.Utterson – "cold, scanty, and embarrassed in discourse…yet somehow lovable."ActionsRemember that paragraph early in the book where Stevenson details Mr. Utterson’s usualnighttime ritual? That whole description can be summed up like so: Mr. Utterson is a boringman of routine.Speech and DialogueSubordinationWhen speaking to Mr. Utterson, both Mr. Guest and Poole frequently use the term "sir." Poolerefers to Dr. Jekyll as "my master." This is obviously not a classless society. Servants arepresent to be loyal and helpful, but they always defer to the gentlemen. Once again, Dr. Jekylland Mr. Hyde becomes a portrait of its times. Character Roles (Protagonist, Antagonist...) Tools of Characterization Characters Dr. Henry Jekyll Mr. Edward Hyde Mr. Gabriel Utterson Mr. Gabriel Utterson Timeline Dr. Hastie Lanyon Mr. Enfield Poole ADVERTISEMENT Table of Contents AP English Language AP English Literature SAT Test Prep ACT Exam Prep ADVERTISEMENT

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Mr. Gabriel UttersonCharacter AnalysisMr. Utterson is not a fun guy. He is not the life of the party, or even anywhere on the sameplanet as the life of the party. He’s a guy that sits with his host after the party and makes himsober and God-fearing again. He’s the perfect gentleman. He reads "dry divinity," goes to bedno later than midnight, has perfect manners, and is systematic, rational, and conscientious.Think of Mr. Utterson as the Victorian ideal (minus his penchant for staying friends with sketchycharacters).Mr. Utterson’s friends are either related to him, or he’s known them since he was a kid. Hisfriendships exist because they’ve stood the test of time. Moreover, once you’re friends with theguy, he’s seriously loyal. When it comes down to it, he’s reliable, trustworthy, and surprisinglynot judgmental. He lets his friends go their own ways, and even if they screw up, he doesn’t cutthem out of his social life. His pursuit of the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde mystery was motivated largelybecause of concern for his friend Character Roles (Protagonist, Antagonist...) Tools of Characterization Characters Dr. Henry Jekyll Mr. Edward Hyde Mr. Gabriel Utterson Mr. Gabriel Utterson Timeline Dr. Hastie Lanyon Mr. Enfield Poole ADVERTISEMENT Table of Contents AP English Language AP English Literature SAT Test Prep ACT Exam Prep ADVERTISEMENT

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Mr. Gabriel Utterson Timeline and Summary Mr. Utterson is out for his usual Sunday afternoon walk with Mr. Enfield when they come across a door that prompts Mr. Enfield to tell a story about a wicked man named Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson has heard this name before. When he goes home, he examines Dr. Jekyll’s will, which instructs the entire estate to be handed over to Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson’s curiosity is aroused, so he visits Dr. Lanyon and asks him about both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Lanyon and Mr. Utterson are two of Dr. Jekyll’s best and oldest friends. Dr. Lanyon has no knowledge of Mr. Hyde, but admits that he is no longer close with Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson’s curiosity is now really aroused, so he stalks the door until he meets Mr. Hyde. They exchange words, and Mr. Utterson comes away thoroughly convinced of Mr. Hyde’s wickedness. Afraid of what kind of hold Mr. Hyde could have over Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Utterson ruminates on his own past sins. He resolves to try and help Dr. Jekyll if he is indeed in trouble. Mr. Utterson goes to dinner at Dr. Jekyll’s house and contrives to stay later. He asks Dr. Jekyll about the will. Dr. Jekyll knows that Mr. Utterson doesn’t like the situation. Mr. Utterson brings up the terrible character of Mr. Hyde, and Dr. Jekyll begs his guest to drop the matter. A year later, a prominent client of Mr. Utterson’s is murdered while carrying documents addressed to Mr. Utterson. Mr. Hyde is responsible for the murder; Mr. Utterson identifies the body and the murder weapon. Mr. Utterson takes a police officer to Mr. Hyde’s house. They talk to the housekeeper and search the house. It is ransacked. Mr. Hyde is nowhere to be found. Mr. Utterson pays a visit to Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson asks if Dr. Jekyll has been harboring Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll says no, and hands Mr. Utterson a letter written by Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson has dinner with his head clerk, Mr. Guest, and asks if Mr. Guest would do a handwriting analysis of the letter. Mr. Utterson’s servant enters with a note from Dr. Jekyll. Based on Mr. Guest’s analysis, Mr. Utterson believes that Dr. Jekyll is a forger. Mr. Hyde disappears, and Mr. Utterson is happy. His friend Dr. Jekyll resumes his old, contented ways. On the 8th of January, Mr. Utterson dines at Dr. Jekyll’s with Dr. Lanyon. Everything is still good. Mr. Utterson calls on Dr. Lanyon, who is deathly ill and says he has had a terrible shock. Mr. Utterson notes that Dr. Jekyll is also ill, and Dr. Lanyon promptly shuts down any mention of Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson writes to Dr. Jekyll, asking what the deal is. Dr. Jekyll writes back, confirming that he and Dr. Lanyon are irreconcilable, and that he has resolved to lead a life of complete seclusion from now on. Dr. Lanyon dies, leaving a document in Mr. Utterson’s possession. Mr. Utterson opens the envelope only to find another envelope, this one to be opened only in the event of Dr. Jekyll’s death or disappearance. Mr. Utterson is tempted to open the envelope, but refrains.

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Mr. Utterson visits Dr. Jekyll frequently, but Poole always tells the same story: Dr. Jekyll has confined himself to the cabinet over the laboratory and refuses to see anyone. Mr. Utterson decreases his visits. Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield go for their usual walk. They pass under a window where Dr. Jekyll is sitting. They chat until Dr. Jekyll stops smiling, freaks out, and shuts the window. Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield are horrified.Dr. Hastie LanyonCharacter AnalysisDr. Lanyon is described as a "hearty, healthy, dapper, red-faced gentleman, with a shock ofhair prematurely white, and a boisterous and undecided manner." He is a gentleman of equalsocial stature to Mr. Utterson and Dr. Jekyll – in fact, the three of them have been friends sincechildhood. He and Dr. Jekyll, however, had a massive scientific argument about ten yearsbefore the events of the book take place, and their friendship is more civil than friendly. At onepoint Dr. Jekyll refers to Mr. Lanyon as "a hide-bound pendant" – from which we can deducethat he’s more rational, scientific, and systematic than his former friend.So what’s up with his death? Well, having just said all that about Lanyon being a man ofscience and a firm believer in logic, you can imagine it would be pretty shocking for such agentleman to watch his best friend undergo a supernatural switcheroo from decent and God-fearing to evil-oozing. Such a sight would be difficult for Lanyon to believe. So, rather thanbelieve it, he dies.Dr. Hastie Lanyon Timeline and Summary Mr. Utterson visits Dr. Lanyon to ask about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Lanyon admits that his relationship with Dr. Jekyll is no longer a close one. Dr. Lanyon has never heard of Mr. Hyde. After the death of Sir Danvers, Mr. Utterson and Dr. Lanyon dine at Dr. Jekyll’s house, and all seems well. Several days later, Dr. Lanyon is near death. He looks much older and paler and terrified. Two weeks later, he dies and leaves a narrative with Mr. Utterson. The narrative details his witnessing the transformation from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll. Most likely, the disturbing scene of watching Jekyll become Hyde was too much to bear, causing the death of poor Mr. Lanyon.Mr. EnfieldCharacter AnalysisMr. Enfield is yet another ideal gentleman of the Victorian age – he has a strong sense ofmorals and good manners. Although he kicks off the novel, he plays a relatively minor role. We

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see him twice in the text, both times on his usual Sunday afternoon walk with his distantrelative and friend Mr. Utterson. Also, on both walks they pass by the curious door that promptsMr. Enfield to tell the "story of the door." Sounds like this character is here to serve onepurpose and one purpose only. Mr. Enfield’s one other notable characteristic is a severe lack ofcuriosity regarding the unusual. He seems to be okay with weird men that "trample" smallchildren, as long as they pay up afterwards. In the classic "foil" sense, of course, Mr. Enfield’slack of curiosity comments on Mr. Utterson’s extreme curiosity.Mr. Enfield Timeline and Summary Coming back from "some place at the end of the world," Mr. Enfield is walking home at three in the morning when he spies a human Juggernaut on a collision course with a young girl. After the Juggernaut knocks the girl over, Mr. Enfield apprehends the man and brings him over to a group of people fussing over the child. Mr. Enfield is struck by the fact that every single person in the group, including the doctor, absolutely loathes the criminal on sight. The criminal offers to pay reparations, then pops into a door and comes out with a check for 100 pounds, drawn from someone else’s bank account. Mr. Enfield is suspicious, but the check is genuine. When Mr. Enfield and Mr. Utterson pass by the door, Mr. Enfield relates the whole story to Mr. Utterson, remarking on the oddness of the whole situation: the criminal is obviously a despicable man, but the money he paid was drawn from the account of an extremely well-respected member of society. The two men discuss the issue. Mr. Utterson asks for the name of the criminal, and Mr. Enfield tells him that it’s Mr. Hyde. He then describes the man’s appearance. They agree never to speak of it again. Some time later, the two men are again on their walk when they pass by the door. They chat about it, happy that Mr. Hyde has disappeared. They go past Dr. Jekyll’s window, and chat with him for a while, before Dr. Jekyll looks absolutely terrified and sad and slams down the window. Mr. Enfield and Mr. Utterson are aghast and horrified.PooleCharacter AnalysisHe may as well be called Jeeves since he’s the ultimate butler – polite, loyal, andknowledgeable about his master to a tee. Seriously, he claims to know Dr. Jekyll’s voice andfootstep, and he probably does, seeing as he’s been with the guy for twenty years. Poole is ourold reliable; he isn’t much of a three-dimensional character himself, but this is so we can simplyget information from him without having to question his motivations, reasoning, etc. He’s a toolfor the author, in other words.

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Poole Timeline and Summary Poole doesn’t really have a timeline. At the end of the novel, he precipitates the finding of Mr. Hyde when, concerned for his master, he appeals to Mr. Utterson for help.